PHOENIX — The Suns are in a bad place right now, contemplating rotation changes geared more toward player development than winning in the not-so-distant future. The Bucks, meanwhile, are a playoff team in the East, and fought like it on Thursday to overcome an eight-point fourth quarter deficit on the way to a 98-94 victory.

The win broke a crazy streak for Milwaukee, who hadn’t won in Phoenix since Feb. 21, 1987. The Suns had won 24 straight home games against this opponent since then, and the Bucks had yet to win a game at the US Airways Center, going 0-19 before this one since the building opened its doors for the 1992-93 season.

Bucks head coach Jim Boylan said he chose not to even mention the streak to his team before the game got started.

“We actually did not discuss it at all,” Boylan said. “The players knew about it. They were aware of it, so it wasn’t something they didn’t know. Everybody knew about it.

“In years past, we’ve tried that a couple times, and said ‘hey guys, it’s been 20-some-odd years since we’ve won here,’ but it’s never seemed to work,” he continued. “So I took the opposite track, and figured I’m not going to say a word about it. But I did have the box score [from that last win] and we were able to throw that up there after the game to kind of celebrate.”

A comeback win on the road is always worth celebrating, no matter the opponent. On this night, Milwaukee got a 10-point fourth quarter from Monta Ellis, who finished with a game-high 24 points on 10-20 shooting, to go along with four rebounds and six assists.

Ellis didn’t miss a field goal or a free throw in his nine and a half fourth quarter minutes, and that, along with a key defensive stretch late where the Bucks blocked three consecutive Suns’ shots with under 2:35 to play while clinging to a two-point lead was the difference.

For the Suns, the way this game played out was all too familiar. The team has put together spurts of solid basketball in many of its losses, including tonight when they used a 25-10 run in the last 6:35 of the second quarter to turn a 12-point deficit into a three-point lead at the break. But in the end, too many turnovers and not enough playmakers doomed their chances.

‘You’ve got to be able to make plays down the stretch to win games,” a dejected Alvin Gentry said afterward. “We got the game to the point where we should have won it. When you’re up 10 and you’re at home, you’ve got to find a way to win the game. That’s been the story of our season and we haven’t been able to do it.”

I don’t remember playing tonight. I didn’t play. Guys get a lot of money to be ready to play. No Knute Rockne speeches. It’s your job. If you’re a plumber and you don’t do your job, you don’t get any work. I don’t think a plumber needs a pep talk. If a doctor botches operations, he’s not a doctor anymore. If you’re a basketball player, you come ready. It’s called maturity. It’s your job.

Like it or not, motivation is part of an NBA coach’s job.

But that’s also precisely what Popovich is doing.

His credentials dwarf any other coach’s. He can play to his own ego and absolve himself of responsibility – and players will seek to please him. His years of success have earned him the ability to motivate this way, a method no other coach could use without alienating his team.

So, why not hold Motiejunas to what became a four-year, $31 million offer sheet once matched? Houston got something in return – a later trigger date on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ 2017-18 salary. Originally, that decision had to be made March 1 – which would’ve meant dropping Motiejunas from the team this season to prevent his salary from counting next season. Now, the Rockets can make that call in July, after this season is complete.

The following two Julys, Houston will also have a choice on guaranteeing Motiejunas’ upcoming salary or dropping him.

Essentially, Motiejunas is signing the most lucrative Hinkie Special in NBA history. If he plays well and stays healthy, the Rockets have Motiejunas at an affordable rate. If he struggles or his back injuries flare up, they can drop him with little to no penalty.

After they backed themselves into this corner, Motiejunas and his agent, B.J. Armstrong, didn’t do so bad. Considering the similarity between this contract and the Nets’ original offer sheet, it seems Houston helped Armstrong save face after a bungled free agency (which is easier to accept when you’re adding a talented reserve to a formidable team).

But for how little is guaranteed and how much control the Rockets hold over the next four years, wouldn’t Motiejunas have been better off accepting the $4,433,683 qualifying offer?

This means Motiejunas can’t sign with the Nets, who signed him to the original offer sheet, for one year.

I bet it also means Motiejunas and Houston have agreed to a new contract. Otherwise, why release him from the offer sheet? The Rockets would be giving up a tremendous amount of leverage out of the goodness of their hearts – unless this is just a prelude to a new deal with Houston.